Derek travels often for his job — he’s a freelance photo assistant. This past week he was in California (without me!) and I had a normal week here by myself. So, when he arrived back yesterday, I decided that Fuji Ya in Uptown would be the prime spot to catch up and have a bite.
Fuji Ya’s regular Happy Hour runs Tuesday through Friday from 5pm to 7pm, and they also have a late night Happy Hour Tuesday through Thursday from 10pm until close. We showed up around 5:30 on a Wednesday evening. Parking is definitely a hurdle — the parking lot adjacent to the restaurant is a pay lot, but if you’re able to navigate the maze of one-ways, free street parking is close by.
We walked in and were able to be seated immediately at our choice of a table or the sushi bar. We chose a table since we knew we had a lot to talk about and we didn’t want to bother anyone sitting too close. The restaurant feels intimate, yet alive as soon as you walk in — the dim lights and tasteful Asian decor only add to the atmosphere. Our waiter greeted us immediately with warm, wet towels for our hands and also to grab our drink orders — house red wine ($4.50) for me and a Summit ($3.50) for Derek. He brought our drinks almost immediately and we put in our order for a few appetizers. We chose the edamame ($3) and the harumaki ($3.25).
We sipped on our drinks and soon our waiter stopped by again to see if we were ready to order any sushi. We decided to start off with the Spicy Salmon roll with avocado, gobo, lettuce, and sprouts ($5.25). About 10 minutes later, it ALL arrived at once. Good thing too, because we were getting hungry!
The edamame was excellent — tender and well-salted. As I gorged myself on the edamame, Derek dug into the harumaki and the spicy salmon roll. I moved on to the harumaki too — it was crispy and still warm. Dee-licious! We ate our way through the appetizers and ordered two more rolls — the Butterfly Roll with salmon skin, avocado, scallion, cream cheese, and bonito flakes ($5.50) and the Caterpillar Roll with cooked eel, cucumber, and wrapped in avocado ($8).
It did take a quite a bit longer to get our sushi this go-around. The Happy Hour crowd had grown around us and the staff were much busier. It wasn’t too bad — it just goes to show how great their Happy Hour is! Finally, our last rolls arrived. Derek was really excited for the Caterpillar Roll — he had it the last time we visited here for Happy Hour. The Butterfly Roll was my choice. We both dug into our respective rolls and only stopped to exclaim how tasty they were! I tried a piece of the Caterpillar and didn’t hate it, but to me, it didn’t compare to the Butterfly. Derek tried a piece of the Butterfly and was convinced as well.
We finished our meal off and our waiter brought us the bill — $35 before tip for two drinks, two appetizers, and three sushi rolls. Not too shabby!
Atmosphere
With it’s low lighting and great decor, it would be the perfect place for a first date or a intimate meeting for two.Service
Our waiter was very pleasant and attentive. He didn’t stop by as often after it got busy, but that understandable for a popular Happy Hour.Presentation
The presentation was great for some things and nothing special for others. Overall pretty standard.Taste
The taste was fabulous. We were really pleased with all our food, but the Butterfly Roll was a standout!Value for Dollars
The prices were quite reasonable for a sushi Happy Hour and we were able to try several different treats without breaking the bank.
But don’t take my word for it:
Fuji Ya Sushi Restaurant
600 W Lake St
Minneapolis, MN 55408
